The Dog House

[fowldarr]

Well, I might be a little ahead of myself, but we close on our house on Tuesday, and there are no foreseen issues going forward. Of interest to this forum is the oversized two car garage and the free standing shop. The main focus of this thread will be the shop. It measures roughly 16x30 and will be a multi-purpose shop. It will be used for woodworking, small engine repair (motorcycles, lawn mowers, etc) and any other projects that come up.

Bigger automotive projects (like replacing the transmission in my wife's sequoia - anybody want to help?) Will likely take place in the garage due to the relative narrowness of the shop.

While we close on Tuesday, I don't actually take possession until the end of June (hoping for the 20th, but we gave them until the 28th). So posting will be slow to start.

I have limited pictures, but I'll try to post up pictures of the outside later.

The story behind the name: It really works in more ways than one, but when we were viewing the house we had our four year old in tow. He was very concerned about where our dogs were going to live if we bought a house. Despite explaining that they would live with us he got very excited when he saw the shop and exclaimed "That is the biggest dog house EVER!".

So when I'm in the dog house, I'll probably be in the dog house.

 

[PelicanPines]

Can't wait to see pictures of your dog house. Consider a big sign... to officially name the building. Awesome story.

 

[fowldarr]

There she is. The Dog House. In all her glory.


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[PelicanPines]

Awesome potential ... congrats!!!

 

[keithinnc]

very nice, I read above your going to use it for basically same thing I'll be using mine for, I think mostly geared toward the dirt bikes...have you thought about what route (store bought or DIY) your going with lift for motorcycles?

 

[ajohno]

Great stuff. With how fast the year is going the end of June will be here in a flash.

 

[fowldarr]

very nice, I read above your going to use it for basically same thing I'll be using mine for, I think mostly geared toward the dirt bikes...have you thought about what route (store bought or DIY) your going with lift for motorcycles?

We have a couple of dirt bikes, hope to build a cafe racer, maybe a dune buggy at some point.

On the woodworking side I owe my brother a table. My wife wants a sliding barn door on one of the rooms in the new house, and I have a couple of other projects in the wings.


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[fowldarr]

Great stuff. With how fast the year is going the end of June will be here in a flash.

Very true.


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[fowldarr]

Well, we closed today. Time to start packing. They made arrangements during negotiations to stay until June 28

Hoping to get access to the shop before then (would be really nice to move the shop and house at different times, just so everything doesn't end up in the shop)


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[fowldarr]

Well, today was supposed to be the day I got to move in....I closed on the house last month, we graciously allowed them to stay until June 28th at 5pm. It's 11:30pm, they are still not out. It's irritating. But only so much you can do, without just making it more painful for yourself. Hopefully can start moving in the morning.

 

[CarsAnalysis]

Wow, amazing house. Thanks for sharing.

 

[fowldarr]

Alright. I'm moving in. From a shop standpoint, this is what I have to work with. It's already filling up and will need lots of organization. But I'm happy with it

Here are some of the neighbors. I have found them to be quiet and friendly. They mostly mind their own business.

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[fowldarr]

First shop improvement after organization will be more power and lighting. There is an amazing scarcity of outlets. And one light.


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[fowldarr]

Well, the shop has my stuff in it. I need to get the house unpacked to a point I can start worrying about the shop. Or hope the wife comes up with a project that requires me to get stuff organized.


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[Riley]

Congrats! Tasty looking neighbors!

 

[fowldarr]

Yeah, they are more like neighborhood pets than fair game though. Hoping to get out this fall for a few freezer filling endeavors


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[Bighead38]

Nice. Love the story behind the name. Why is the door off center?

 

[fowldarr]

Nice. Love the story behind the name. Why is the door off center?

Because it was built that way.

(That's really the only answer I have, there is no apparent structural reason)


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[fowldarr]

Still getting it put together. But was working on a project this evening (putting wainscoting up in the living room). Snapped a quick pic. You can see how lacking the light is.

In case anybody is curious, here is the wainscoting project. I don't have the top trim on yet. My wife picked the color (going for beachy formal. Whatever that means)

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[C_F]

Your shop looks much larger from the inside than the outside, especially with the way the lighting is in that last photo.

That's neat that you have deer wandering around the yard. Hopefully they don't eat your wife's prized petunias or similar.

 

[fowldarr]

It looked bigger before I filled it with my ****. But the darkness and poor lighting certainly give it a cave like quality that any Neanderthal would love.


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[fowldarr]

Ok, hoping to tap into some of the great electrical minds of GJ. I am admittedly not an electrician. I do have friends and coworkers that are very experienced, and would help with everything up to the inspection.

The Dog House has two outlets and a single overhead light.

It needs more power.

It is tied to a single breaker in the main panel in the house. It also has a light switch 'disconnect' in the shop that kills power to the outlets and light.

It is primarily a woodwork/hobby shop, fix the mowers, and hopefully a bike in the future. On power I have a table saw (two actually, but I only use one), circular saw, band saw, battery chargers for Cordless tools, etc. I have a 220 volt compressor that would need power as well if I keep it (I may not, battery power is quickly replacing air power in my shop). In the future I'd like a dust collection system.

The overhead lighting is abysmal.

What do I need?

What do I need to do to get it?




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[Bib Overalls]

Best place to ask that question is the Garage Journal's Lighting & Electrical Forum.

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=30

That place is populated by a bunch of nit picking sparkies that delight in showing off their knowledge of the National Electric Code.

Since you need both 220V and 110V service in your "Dog House" a small sub-panel is indicated. 60 amps is a common size.

You will need conductors (wire/cable) from the electrical panel that services your house. Conductors can be run overhead or underground. Conductors are sized based on the maximum load required and the distance between the panels. The maximum load is the size breaker you use in your main panel to protect/feed the conductors to the sub-panel in your "Dog House."

Depending on where you live this kind of work may require both a permit and an inspection.

Big box stores like Lowe's and Home Depot have a number of paperback "How To Wire Your Home" books selling for $20-25. They are easy to read and well illustrated. Good place to start if you have minimal or no wiring skills.

If you are not comfortable doing your own electrical work hire the job out to a pro.

 

[fowldarr]

My world is about to get a whole lot brighter.


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[fowldarr]

Ok, I’ll pop over to the electrical section here in a bit, but here it s my plan.

I bought 4 of the Costco Feit 4ft LED lamps.

I currently have limited power in the shop. So I’m going to convert the existing light fixture into an outlet.

The shop is approx 16x30.

Should I run the lights width wise or length wise in the shop?

I plan to get these up and decide if I need more.


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[fowldarr]

Installed the shop lights tonight. Pics to come.


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[fowldarr]

Compare these pics to the one above. What a difference $80 in LED lights will make. My life is so much brighter now.


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[fowldarr]

I still have a lot of cleanup and organizing to do.


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[drivesitfar]

Fowl: sorry that i've somehow missed your garage thread, but it's on my radar now so i can maybe watch, learn and help or advise if you might need some.

the FUTURE IS SO BRIGHT YOU'LL NEED SHADES I think is what you meant to say.

how's the weather on the coast today? i'm guessing big wave, wind and rain? this weekend is supposed to be nice up here so hopefully you can get out and maybe do a little beach walking.

cheers

 

[jp828108]

Looking nice. Do you have any photos of your completed wainscoting project?

My detached shop has a 60 amp sub-pannel. In my mind it's not ideal, but it's enough to get by. The previous owner installed it so I'm not sure on sizing of wiring or anything like that.

Did you decide on how you will upgrade your power?

 

[rlwhitetr3b]

Because it was built that way.

(That's really the only answer I have, there is no apparent structural reason)


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If it wasn't you would not have had enough depth along the wall for the bench.

 

[fowldarr]

Thanks Drives, It's still coming together and I've been trying to find the best way to organize and I have come to the realization that my biggest barrier is the workbench. It was there when I moved in, and it is way too deep, I have to tiptoe to reach the back of it, and it eliminates the possibility of wall mounted cabinets above (as I would not be able to reach them). So the next big step is going to be a rebuild of the workbench to narrow it down, and I might do some other interesting things while I think about it.

 

[fowldarr]

As far as power, I have plans and a local electrician that is going to help me out. I'm discovering that I really don't need as much power as I thought, I've been converting to cordless tools for some time so the only tools I have that require power are the Table saw and Miter saw, and the battery chargers. However, I want the ability to do more. The electrician is getting me a parts list, and will stop by to make sure I don't screw it up.

 

[fowldarr]

Told the wife I needed a shop stool. She went and bought me this because I was “ probably going to bring home something that was rusty with a cracked green vinyl seat”




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[fowldarr]

The finished product




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[fowldarr]

Shoptime with the mini-me


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[fowldarr]

Didn't think to take pictures of it, but my current shop project is my 65" TV. The Powerboard went bad (known issue on Vizio flat screen). It's out of warranty of course, but thanks to the wonders of youtube, and the availability of anything on ebay, it should be up and running again in a couple of weeks (waiting for the parts) for under $100 which is a lot cheaper than a replacement.

Some great tutorials on youtube, but I'll snap a picture in case anyone wants to see what it looks inside the back of their TV>

 

[theundermount]

nice stool where did the wife pick that up from?


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[fowldarr]

nice stool where did the wife pick that up from?


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Costco!

It went together super easily, keeps my fat **** off the floor, and is pretty comfy to sit in. No idea what she paid for it.

 

[fowldarr]

Bought a roller cart for my table saw. Now I can move it out of the way when I want. Now I need to buy another one for my other table saw


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